bioMérieux sets the TEMPO in food quality testing

Marcy l’Etoile, France, 25 April 2005 – bioMérieux of France has launched the TEMPO system – the first automated solution for microbial enumeration. bioMérieux, a leading company in the field of food microbiology controls, is now expanding its product offer dedicated to the food industry. TEMPO is initially being launched in Europe with applications for meat, meat-based products, poultry and eggs.

One of the global leaders in the field of automated solutions for industrial microbiology in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors, bioMérieux has developed this entirely new concept for the enumeration of micro-organisms in food products in close collaboration with international food microbiology experts and customers.

The applications for this new system concern the most important market segment of microbiological controls performed in the food industry: 80% of routine microbiological tests performed in food-testing laboratories involve enumeration. The purpose of these tests is to validate both the commercial value of finished products, from plant release to shelf-life expiration, and the high quality of food products for the end consumer.

TEMPO offers significant benefits to industrial microbiology laboratories. By reducing the number of operations at each step of the analysis process, TEMPO frees up valuable laboratory staff-time for more value-added tasks. TEMPO offers fully automated reading, as well as complete traceability through the unique bar code on each TEMPO card, thereby limiting the risk of error and reducing the costs of non-quality. Earlier detection of possible product nonconformities enables laboratories to be more proactive and to anticipate potential production issues. "The TEMPO system will enable food laboratories to save time and costs throughout the microbial enumeration process," states Claude Terrot, Executive Vice-President Industrial Microbiology at bioMérieux.

Although the bacteria enumerated by TEMPO are not necessarily pathogenic, they can rapidly alter the appearance and taste of a product when present in large quantities. "bioMérieux’s objective was to develop a simple and innovative solution that would bring microbial enumeration into the era of automation," adds Benoît Adelus, Executive Vice-President of bioMérieux.

TEMPO is currently undergoing validation by official regulatory bodies.

About bioMérieux
bioMérieux is a leading international diagnostics group that specialises in the field of in-vitro diagnostics for clinical and industrial applications. bioMérieux designs, develops, manufactures and markets systems (i.e. reagents, instruments and software) used in clinical applications – the diagnosis of infectious diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis and respiratory illnesses, as well as pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer, based on the analysis of biological samples (such as blood, saliva or urine). The company’s products and technologies also have industrial applications – the microbiological analysis of food, environments (such as water and air), surfaces, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, based on the analysis of product or environmental samples.

In 2004, bioMérieux sales reached €930.6 million. The company is present in more than 130 countries through 33 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors, which positions the group well to benefit from the growth potential of the in-vitro diagnostics market. Growth is driven by a number of factors, including ageing populations and age-related illness, illnesses related to lifestyle and eating habits, the emerging new pathogens, the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the fight against bio-terrorism and the recognition of the importance of the quality of food products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

bioMérieux is listed on the Premier Marché of Euronext, Paris (FR0010096479 – BIM).